Beja LPBJ 2018-01-13 - Alpha Jet last flight spotter event

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Snakeye
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Beja LPBJ 2018-01-13 - Alpha Jet last flight spotter event

Post by Snakeye »

The Portuguese Air Force bid farewell to the Alpha Jet after close to 25 years of service with 103 Sqn, 301 Sqn and the "Asas de Portugal" display team.

About 50 spotters were allowed on base to witness the last flight (not really...) of the last 6 aircraft (15206, 15208, 15211, 15226, 15236 and 15250).
Despite the unstable weather and mostly backlight conditions, we were able to capture some shots. Here's a taste.
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Best regards,

André Carvalho
Snakeye
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Re: Beja LPBJ 2018-01-13 - Alpha Jet last flight spotter eve

Post by Snakeye »

The six Alpha Jets after landing.
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Best regards,

André Carvalho
Snakeye
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Re: Beja LPBJ 2018-01-13 - Alpha Jet last flight spotter eve

Post by Snakeye »

A C-295M used for an air2air shoot with the formation.
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Best regards,

André Carvalho
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Alpha Kilo One
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Re: Beja LPBJ 2018-01-13 - Alpha Jet last flight spotter eve

Post by Alpha Kilo One »

Still love the little one:( . It's like they could go on for ages still......!
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Bennie
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Re: Beja LPBJ 2018-01-13 - Alpha Jet last flight spotter eve

Post by Bennie »

Alpha Kilo One wrote:Still love the little one:( . It's like they could go on for ages still......!
They're still going strong in Canada! 8)
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Stratofreighter
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Re: Beja LPBJ 2018-01-13 - Alpha Jet last flight spotter eve

Post by Stratofreighter »

...a bit of a "mixed bag", colour scheme wise. :wink:

Thanks for putting your pictures up! :)
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Snakeye
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Re: Beja LPBJ 2018-01-13 - Alpha Jet last flight spotter eve

Post by Snakeye »

Alpha Kilo One wrote:Still love the little one:( . It's like they could go on for ages still......!
We do too. Great looking aircraft and suited for their missions. We will miss them, but they are expensive to maintain due to their unique engines.
Bennie wrote:They're still going strong in Canada! 8)
And they look sharp in that blue c/s too.
Stratofreighter wrote:...a bit of a "mixed bag", colour scheme wise. :wink:
Thanks for putting your pictures up! :)
You're welcome. Need to use an external server though, like Flickr, as the 800px attachment limit is a bit small.

Regarding the colour schemes, I am glad the last ones have such diversity. The first tiger scheme a/c (15428) was also preserved after some years on display.
Unfortunately the reestablishment of the "Asas de Portugal" display team lead to many aircraft being painted in that NASCAR like c/s and other airframes with the wraparound tactical c/s were fased out progressively.
One major loss on that ocasion was the second tiger aircraft (in fact a jaguar), as 301 Jaguars moved on to the F-16. It was the first aircraft (15250) to get the AdP colours.
Jaguar.jpg
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Best regards,

André Carvalho
Sullivan
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Re: Beja LPBJ 2018-01-13 - Alpha Jet last flight spotter eve

Post by Sullivan »

Nice shots, absolutely gutted though, that I didn't know about this event as I was working in Portugal (Evora) and had the 13/01 as a day off :-(
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Re: Beja LPBJ 2018-01-13 - Alpha Jet last flight spotter eve

Post by Stratofreighter »

Sullivan wrote:Nice shots, absolutely gutted though, that I didn't know about this event as I was working in Portugal (Evora) and had the 13/01 as a day off :-(
Afterwards I found some kind of "accepted spotters list" on the official Portuguese Air Force website.

There were only 60 places available
and many more applications.
I suppose some kind of "lottery" was used :?:
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Snakeye
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Re: Beja LPBJ 2018-01-13 - Alpha Jet last flight spotter eve

Post by Snakeye »

The event was publicly announced by the air force, both on Facebook and their website. Enrollment was done by email a day later (if I recall correctly), from 00h00. It was done on a first come first served basis (no lottery), and so was full at around 00h02. :lol:

Portuguese spotter events are smaller (due to the logistical nightmare), so you get to go to better locations and move around to get to a better position for shots. That was not possible with this event, as it was on a weekend and there were parallel celebrations for the military on site (appron and squadron facilities).
Best regards,

André Carvalho
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